During our most recent (September 13) call on “HoUSed: Universal, Stable, Affordable Housing,” we discussed destigmatizing emergency rental assistance participation and the status of the budget reconciliation bill moving through Congress, received updates from the field, and learned the latest on emergency rental assistance implementation.
NLIHC’s Vice President of Public Policy Sarah Saadian shared an update on the affordable housing provisions included in the budget reconciliation package released by the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) on September 9 (see Memo, 9/13). Thanks to the tireless work of advocates and the leadership of HFSC Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA), the bill would provide $327 billion in new investments for affordable housing and community development, including robust funding for the HoUSed campaign’s top priorities:
- $90 billion for rental assistance
- $80 billion to preserve public housing
- $37 billion for the national Housing Trust Fund to construct deeply affordable housing for people with the lowest incomes
Sarah also discussed the “Expediting Assistance to Landlords and Renters Act” introduced by Chair Waters to make reforms to Treasury’s emergency rental assistance (ERA) program (see Memo, 9/7).
Elizabeth Linos and Jessica Lasky-Fink from the University of California, Berkeley, along with Kim Desmond from the office of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and Melissa Thate from the Department of Housing Stability in Denver, Colorado presented research on reducing stigma associated with participating in ERA programs. The researchers found that using destigmatizing language on rental assistance promotional materials increased completed applications by 40% in Denver.
Ally Harris from Texas Housers gave an update on the Harris County court watch program. Kristina Contreras Fox from the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness discussed the organization’s advocacy efforts to increase housing and food stability in Rhode Island. Staci Berger and Janel Winter shared field updates about coordination among partners in the New Jersey housing field. NLIHC’s Neetu Nair and Emma Foley presented updates on ERA implementation, which can be found on NLIHC’s ERA dashboard.
Our next national call will be on Monday, September 20 at 2:30 pm ET. Register at: tinyurl.com/ru73qan
View the presentation slides at: tinyurl.com/5a778wks
Watch the recording at: tinyurl.com/ytbp5s32